Most Recent from YES! Magazine

David Korten’s presentation to the Seattle Green Festival shows that we humans can choose to turn this moment of planetary crisis into a new era, grounded in life-affirming values of community, caring, and cooperation.

Nearly two out of three Americans believe U.S. relations with the rest of the world are on the wrong track. That doesn’t have to be bad news, though. The Summer 2008 issue of YES! shows the people turning that around: voting for peace in their city or town, supporting Iraq veterans, and starting conversations with your neighbors about how to create a just world.

With enough citizen understanding and action, America can change. Were you one of the millions deeply moved by Barack Obama’s March 18 speech from Philadelphia? He supported his optimism with a fierce faith in this country, saying “What we know, what we have seen, is that America can change—that is the true genius of this nation.”

Niceness is often filled with falseness—it is a way to not tell the truth, or to obscure it. “Be nice!” is something many of us heard as children as a way of avoiding upsetting someone… it’s not effective in the long run as a way to come together to solve the myriad difficulties facing our communities, both local and global.